Monday, 15 October 2018

Phonica: Nine

Phonicais a multidisciplinary performance series rooted in Word and Sound, with an emphasis on multiformity and the experimental. Conceived, directed, programmed and hosted by Christodoulos Makris and Olesya Zdorovetska, Phonica aims to explore compositional and performative ideas and to encourage a melting pot of audiences and artists from across artforms.

Adrian Crowley is a songwriter, singer, composer, writer and recording artist. Originally from Galway he is now based in Dublin. October 2017, saw the worldwide release of his eighth album, Dark Eyed Messenger, produced by and featuring Thomas Bartlett aka Doveman. The album was recorded in New York in Bartlett’s studio in under a week. and follows 2014’s Some Blue Morning, both released on the legendary Scottish label Chemikal Underground Records. Previous albums include I See Three Birds Flying (2012), Season of the Sparks (2009) and Long Distance Swimmer (2007) - all of which were nominated for The Choice Music Prize, with Season Of The Sparks winning the the prestigious award for Irish album of the year in 2010. Since recording with Steve Albini in 2001, Crowley has toured extensively in the USA and Europe, received attention from The New Yorker, Rolling Stone, Les Inrockuptibles, Mojo, and recorded radio sessions for New York’s WNYC, WFMU and BBC 6 Music. 2018 has seen Crowley touring across Europe playing venues such as La Botanique in Brussels and churches and venues through out Netherlands, France, Germany, Spain & Portugal, This year he also appeared at La Philharmonie in Paris, Festival Printemps de Bourges, End Of The Road Festival in England and The Lincoln Centre in New York. The latter was in the context of a live film score for the 1920s lost classic 'The Four Horsemen of The Apocalypse' with a group of five musician/composers invited by The New York Film Festival. Crowley is also involved in film and recently enjoyed his debut role as screenwriter, working with Irish director Niall McCann on the latter’s new feature film entitled 'The Science of Ghosts', which saw its world premiere in February 2018 at The Dublin International Film Festival, and was screened at Galway Film Fléadh and Cork’s IndieCork film festival. The experimental documentary which centres around Crowley as the principal character will be appearing at film festivals throughout 2018. On occasion he works with Crash Ensemble, Ireland’s foremost contemporary ensemble, and they premiered new work together at Explore The North Festival in The Netherlands and The National Concert Hall, Dublin. He was recently artist in residence at Centre Cultural Irlandais in Paris. and is currently working on his ninth studio album.

Ed Devane is an Irish multidisciplinary artist working primarily with sound. His work encompasses electronic music production, musical instrument design and manufacture, educational workshop facilitation and interactive sound installation. He is a member of the Design and Crafts Council of Ireland and has been funded by the Irish Arts Council, Culture Ireland and Limerick City of Culture Visual Arts Legacy Program. As a musician, he has released music under his own name on labels such as Touchin' Bass and Mantrap Recordings, and as Withering Zithering on Acre Recordings and Farpoint Records. He is currently working on new beat driven material (techno / electro / industrial) after a long hiatus in experimental improvisation land. Ed has completed a number of bespoke instrument commissions for a growing list of clients around the world. Through designing and making these custom instruments Ed has explored a variety of traditional and modern building techniques including wood turning and carving, CNC milling, casting and 3D printing. These commissions have led to larger installation commissions that have been interacted with in IMMA, SARC, RCC Letterkenny and MusicTown Dublin. He has given workshops at Edinburgh International Science Festival, Irish Museum of Modern Art, Hunt Musuem Limerick, National Craft Gallery Kilkenny, Temple Bar Gallery & Studios Dublin and many other art centres in Ireland.

Máighréad Medbh has published seven books of poetry and a mixed-genre work (Savage Solitude, Dedalus Press, 2013). She has also written for radio, and three novels are online as ebooks. After the publication of her first book, The Making of a Pagan (Blackstaff, 1990) she became known for dramatic performances and has performed widely in Ireland, Europe and the US. Composition focus is generally on methods of embodiment - the movement towards and from the text. Her latest book, Parvit of Agelast: A Fantasy in Verse (Arlen House, 2016), was shortlisted for the Pigott Prize 2017. Currently she’s interested in essays (she publishes a monthly essay-blog on her website), mixed genre, poem-strings and verse novels, and has begun work towards a creative-critical PhD in experimental literature in DCU.

Julie Morrissy is an Irish poet, critic, activist, and scholar. In 2016 she was named one of Ireland's "Rising Generation" poets by Poetry Ireland. Her chapbook I Am Where (2015) is published by Eyewear, and was shortlisted for Best Poetry Pamphlet in the Saboteur Awards, UK. Her debut collection Where, the Mile End is forthcoming in 2019 with BookThug, Canada. She has performed her work internationally, most recently at O, Miami Festival, Book Week Scotland, and the Toronto International Festival of Authors.

Rouzbeh Rashidi is an Iranian-Irish filmmaker. He has been making films since 2000, at which time he founded the Experimental Film Society in Tehran. He has always worked completely away from mainstream conceptions of filmmaking, striving to escape the stereotypes of conventional storytelling. Instead, he roots his cinematic style in a poetic interaction of image and sound. He generally eschews scriptwriting, seeing the process of making moving images as exploration rather than illustration. His work is deeply engaged with film history. 'Homo Sapiens Project' is the distillation and, in some ways the culmination, of Rashidi’s experimental film practice. Initiated in 2011, it is an ongoing series of films that provides a ‘laboratory’ for experimenting with cinematic forms, and fully explores the potential of filmmaking as an integral and ongoing part of daily life, as enabled by today’s digital technology. Rashidi has collaborated with a large selection of artists from all over the world. He moved to Ireland in 2004 and currently lives and works in Dublin.

Judith Ring is a composer/musician/producer and all round music lover based in Dublin. She has been writing music for the past 20 years and has been greatly inspired by living in such places as Berlin, London, York, Paris and Dublin. Her music stems from the electro-acoustic world and its core technique is based on the practices of musique concrète. Over the years this has expanded and been influenced by more improvised and instrumental territories derived from a deep exploration of instrumental timbre through collaborative projects with a large number of musicians. Current works underway include a multi-media music-theatre piece based on a text by writer/composer Michael Gallen partly funded by an Opera bursary from the Arts Council and a set of cello pieces for cellist Martin Johnson to be recorded and performed in 2019. In October 2014 her debut cd entitled What Was was released on Ergodos records to great acclaim. This was funded by the Music Network recording scheme. In 2017 she self-released an EP of songs using poems by Roderick Ford called The Ring Lieder. She performs as a member of Clang Sayne and Silver Kites on a regular basis. She has written pieces for Concorde ensemble, Crash Ensemble, Percusemble, Trio Scordatura, Tryst, University of York chamber orchestra, and Bradyworks (Canada). She has also written a large number of solo/duo with/without tape for Martin and Adele Johnson, Michelle O’Rourke (voice), Kate Ellis (cello), Garth Knox (viola), Natasha Lohan (voice), Paul Roe (bass clarinet), Laura Moody (Cello), Damien Harron (percussion), Elisabeth Smalt (adapted viola), Malachy Robinson (double bass), Andre Leroux (tenor sax) and Rolf Hind (piano). Her pieces have been performed worldwide. She has a PhD in composition from the University of York and Masters in Music and Media Technologies from Trinity College Dublin. Judith is represented by the Contemporary Music Centre of Ireland and the Association of Irish Composers.

Phonica acknowledges generous funding support from Dublin City Council and Poetry Ireland.